The United States and Iraq have agreed to seek "a general time horizon" for deeper reductions in American combat troops in Iraq.
Iraqi officials, in a sign of growing confidence as violence decreases, have been pressuring the United States to agree to a specific timeline to withdraw US forces.
US President George W Bush has adamantly opposed a timeline, and the White House said today that the timeframe being discussed would not be "an arbitrary date for withdrawal".
Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talked about timing as part of discussions over a broader security agreement to keep American troops in Iraq after a UN mandate expires on December 31.
The White House says the two leaders agreed in a conversation yesterday that the accord should include "a general time horizon for meeting aspirational goals, such as the resumption of Iraqi security control in their cities and provinces and the further reduction of US combat forces from Iraq".
Iraq has proposed requiring US forces to withdraw fully five years after the Iraqis take the lead on security nationwide, although that condition could take years.
Early this month, Iraq's national security adviser, Mouwaffak al-Rubaie, said Baghdad would not accept any security deal unless it contained specific dates for the withdrawal of US-led forces. Al-Maliki also has said he expects the pending troop deal with the United States to have a timetable for withdrawal.
Bush has vetoed legislation approved by the Democratic Congress that would have set deadlines for American troop cutbacks.
The White House statement said the timing of further reductions would be linked to improved security conditions. In recent weeks, Iraq's government has expressed increasing confidence about its authority and the country's improved stability.
The United States has handed control of nine of 18 provinces to Iraqi officials.
The US military buildup in Iraq that began more than 18 months ago has ended. In recent days, the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade, the last of the five additional combat brigades deployed by Bush last year, left the country. Still, 150,000 American troops remain in Iraq, as many as 15,000 more than before the buildup began.
The Pentagon's top military officer had said on Wednesday that he is likely to recommend further troop reductions in Iraq this late this year.
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he is likely to recommend further troop reductions this year because security has improved.
"I won't go so far as to say that progress in Iraq from a military perspective has reached a tipping point or is irreversible; it has not, and it is not," Mullen said.
"But security is unquestionably and remarkably better. Indeed, if these trends continue I expect to be able early this fall to recommend to the secretary and the president further troop reductions."
US Defence Secretary Robert Gates said officials are looking for ways to send additional US troops to Afghanistan this year. A cutback in Iraq could clear the way for more troops to go to Afghanistan.
The White House statement said the reduction in US forces in Iraq was "a testament to the improving capacity of Iraq's Security Forces and the success of joint operations that were initiated under the new strategy put in place by the president and the prime minister in January 2007".
